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The circular economy and sustainable development

    • Rome
    • 2 October 2019

          Italy is, by far, leader of Europe’s circular economy, recuperating double the European average of raw material, much more than the Germans in all sectors, but especially in hypercompetitive ones such as wood/furniture. Much needs to be improved, however, in the proper management of every phase of the waste cycle (from collection to recovery to disposal) which is an integral part of the circular economy. A single southern Italian region – Sardinia – reports recycling and reuse percentages far above the European average.

          It has been calculated that Italy recycles approximately 45% of urban refuse and 65% of special – i.e. industrial – non-urban waste. The Lombardy region recycles 74% of waste collected, which means an 80-85% level of separate waste collection. It has been estimated that every Italian region should reach a level of organic collection equal to 140 kg per inhabitant per year, which are the best practices of the Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Marche regions. Alongside these positions of excellence, however, there are some less impressive cases: Sicily is emblematic of the contradictions, with a waste separation average of 22%, continued dumping of 73% and the treatment of organic waste one of the lowest in Italy.

          Criticism was expressed during the round table of the “Sblocca Cantieri” decree as not only failing to remove hindrances to recycling future industrial plants, but also for impeding the recycling of active and existing ones in Italy. The risk cited was that of the revocation of authorization for 120 plants. This has spurred the Lombardy region to intervene in order to redress the decree’s glaring incongruences, fruit of the strong ideological views of some PMs that have led to the substantial suspension of the Italian production system.

          The goal set by the European Union is to achieve 65% recycling by 2035. The program announced by Commissioner Van der Leyen, which launches a New Green Deal and is counting heavily on investments in the environmental sector, proposes establishing a customs tariff upon entry in order to get an upstream idea of the quantity of polluting products, i.e. of those that go in the production process. The investment envisaged is of one trillion euro over the next ten years, yet it is not clear where those funds will be coming from.

          Italy, however, suffers from a gap between the waste production and the availability of treatment plants. Indeed, Italy exports 3.5 million tons of refuse, special and urban, to other countries at a hefty price. According to many observers, Italy needs to build 50 mid-level plants, which calls for a 10-billion-euro investment plan.

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